So this is what devastation looks like.

Sunday night a tornado went right through the heart of Joplin, Missouri. Joplin is around of Springfield. We watched in horror as the news reporter's showed the ruins of what was once people's homes, cars and businesses. Monday rolled around and more graphic images filled our TV set as we sat glued to our seats. I felt like I needed to help. God kept nudging at my heart to do something, to help my fellow Missourians. I prayed all day that the Lord would show me what I needed to do. By the end of the day I felt like I had to go to Joplin itself. I contacted a group going and was there bright and early Tuesday morning.
We got to College Heights Christian Church ready to help out however we could, not expecting to be sent out into the devastation. Even though we were not ready to go, we found it within ourselves to do whatever was needed. We were sent out to 26th street and this is what we faced:

 It looked as if bombs had been dropped. Nothing was left standing.Houses were gone. Everything that once was a thriving community now only resembled the shadow of what was.
The people were shell shocked. No one knew what to do and many just stared at what once was their home. One man we helped was shaking and couldn't even complete sentences. Through it all God's name was glorified for the lives that had not been lost. There was hope even among the devastation. Some of the people in our group found an American Flag in some of the rubble and decided that she deserved better and the hung her by a 2x4. It was beautiful to see that even among the mess, we are still Americans united under the one true God and no matter what the situation is we will stand together through it all.

It hit me as soon as I stepped in the door of my house that I am so blessed to still have a place to call home. A front door still welcomes me into a home where the roof is still intact and glass still in the windows. I still have clothes to wear and everyone in my family is still alive. For so many in Joplin, they have lost everything and everyone. Please pray for the community of Joplin as they continue to pick up the pieces of their lives. Pray that the love of Christ will be shown and God will be glorified through it all.

In Christ alone,
Ang

Top 5 favorite memories from freshman year

I have been reflecting over the last school year and thought I would share my top 5 favorite memories from the past school year!!!

#1 Becoming A Ninja!

Holly, Amerrica and I got really bored one night after studying forever and decided to ninja around campus. We rolled down the hill, hid from cars, ran through the chapel, and over all just had a blast!!!!! (Even though some people thought we were a bit crazy)

#2 Fall Break!

Fall break was such an amazing time! I got to catch up with some great friends! I spent the week enjoying eating Kenyan food, going to the aquarium and the Varsity in Atlanta. I was so blessed by that trip!

#3 Spring Break Beach Trip

Spring Break 2011 was amazing!!! We had such an incredible time camping out right by the beach. It was an amazing time with some good friends that I will never forget!

#4 The Photo Project

This past semester we were required to come up with a creative project for Humanities. I came up with the idea to get people to share their favorite verses by writing them on their hands. I enjoyed seeing how everyone's verse reflects them. 

#5 Joy Prom

Joy Prom was one of the most amazing things that I have ever been a part of. I was so blessed to see everyone enjoying themselves so much. We had so many people come up to us and thank us over and over again for helping making the night special for those with mental disabilities. I think that they blessed us more than we could have ever blessed them. Since it was an incredible night it deserves multiple pictures!

We had the honor of doing the girl's nails.

We danced...

and danced....

and danced!!!

It was an incredible night and no one is every going to forget it!

The crazy life of a college kid

Lately I have been so consumed by so many things that I haven't been able to write much on here.

God has been doing so many things in my life and I have been so blessed by so many people around me.
In the past month, my eyes have really been opened to what God is doing in my life.

A couple of weeks ago a close friend and I were at the point of not speaking and it was devastating to me. He has been like a brother to me for a very long time and we had begun to let our differences and silly circumstances come in the way of our friendship. I hate losing any friend but especially someone that is literally a brother to me. We finally after weeks of not talking and ignoring one another sat down and hashed everything out. We began to meet every Wednesday night to hang out and I hope that will continue next fall when we get back to school...and he promised he would skype me over the summer :)

God has also shown me the value of prayer. I have begun to try and pray more. When I was younger and still in High School, I would pray every night and that ended when I came to college. I wasn't finding time to pray anymore. My life felt like something was missing so I began to pray more. When I was going to class, at lunch, etc. I decided that I needed to stop telling people I would pray for them and just do it at that moment. One of my greatest friends was going through a break-up and before we even began to pray, my friend asked me what I needed prayer for and as my friend was praying for my needs I felt like a new person, and that a burden that had been weighing on my heart was now lifted. I thought about how prayer really does impact a person, so I started a prayer board. (Picture to come later) and on my little dry erase board, I have all the prayer requests and praises I can think of. I hope that my prayers can be as effective as the one that my friend prayed for me.

The other big thing that God has taught me is how much we let our technology get in our way. We spend so much time every day on our cell phones, lap tops,  Ipods and the list goes on and on and on. My lap top broke three times this semester and the final time it really gave out and I had to send it in to the company so they could repair it. I had so much more time to spend with friends and do things that I had been putting off because I had to be on facebook for hours and watch my favorite shows when they finally got to hulu. God used my lap top being broken to show me how much friends matter and that I need to stop putting my technology in front of things that matter way more.

So this has been my crazy life over the past month...I will be trying to update this more often and I hope you enjoy!

Loves,
Ang